Immunizations=Autism – I Don’t Think So

I have been avoiding this topic like the plague, but it is time to delve right in with my humble opinion.  Autism does not have a cure – yet.  We do not know for SURE what causes autism  The major debate is between mercury based vaccinations and neurology. 

 Autism sparks different kinds of tics or repetitive movements and certain odd behaviors.  For instance, when we go to Wendy’s for lunch, Bryce has the chicken nugget kids meal with chocolate milk.  He takes a napkin and lays it out flat and puts his nuggets in a straight line at the top of the napkin.  Next, he takes his french fries and puts them in a neat order under the nuggets.  After that, he drinks all of his milk, then eats the nuggets and finishes off by eating all of the fries.  Interestingly enough, I learned that when I was very young, I would follow a similar pattern.  For example, if we were having fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans, I  would have to have them in separate sections on my plate and I would eat each food in it’s entirety before moving on to the next food on my plate and the plate had to be sitting in front of me in a specific way.  Coincidence or freak of nature?   

 Next, autism also is in connection with sensory related issues: not wanting to touch certain things because of the feel or texture, not wanting to get dirty or be held tight or in a cramped place.  Bryce hates to get dirty.  We were in an elevator once and the gentleman riding with us commented on how clean Bryce’s shoes were and that they must be brand new.  They were not.  He had had that pair of shoes for six moths.  On the contrary, Brady can take a pair of tennis shoes and have them ragged and worn within six weeks.  Bryce also has a problem feeling the texture of shaving cream, so he never wants Cool Whip on his ice cream , jello, etc.  He also had a problem with play-dough, but that is slowly fading away.  Even the feel of bubbles on his face would send him into a frenzy.  He never liked being held as a baby and does not like to be tucked in too tight at night.  So, I had a problem with getting dirty when I was young and still to this day I have to “suck it up” so as to set a good example for the kids.  I am claustrophobic.  I can’t stand touching a chalkboard and definitely go over the edge with the fingernails on the chalkboard sound.  Coincidence or not? 

I believe that in my childs case, vaccinations were not the cause.  Autism does involve the brain.  A persons brain function is a direct result of their actions.  An autistic person needs to learn how to re-wire their brain to be able to perform everyday tasks.  In the structure of the brain is where the trouble lies.  I don’t believe a vaccination can cause that.  I believe that they are born that way and that heredity plays a part in it. 

Dr. Temple Grandin says in her book(and I paraphrase)that their is a little bit of autism in all of us.  People who work with computers and hi-tech equipment probably have their own little quirks that are not large enough to register on the autism radar but they have them nonetheless.  If you would go back through their genealogy you would probably find someone who had these same quirks only on a more significant level.  I had such definitive behaviors when I was a child that it is absolutely possible that I passed them onto my children.  Am I considered autistic?  No, but who is to say that the combination of my behaviors and my husbands genetic make-up did not produce Bryce, an autistic individual.  The vaccination theory does not sit well with me because all three of my children had their immunizations in different parts of the state.  If we did a study of all the infants who were immunized where Bryce was, how many of them are autistic now?  Isn’t that what they are claiming?  That mercury in these vaccinations is causing the problem.  So, are the pharmaceutical companies who make the vaccines putting mercury in a select few so that there are autistic children  all over the country or are they putting it in the same batch that would be distributed to the same area and cause an epidemic in that particular part of the country?  It seems to me that the latter would be the easiest.  Of course, I am not a scientist, or a pharmacist or a doctor.  I am a mother who has an autistic child who believes that his shot of MMR or DTaP or polio did not cause him to be this way.  It seems that now a days everyone is ready for a witch hunt in this country.  Someone is covering for someone else because of the almighty dollar.  I thought that they had even stopped producing the mercury vaccinations?  So what does anybody have to gain?  Pharmaceutical companies are just an easy target because of the “enhanced truth” that the government is protecting them.  I think everyone that has an autistic child should just stop and breathe.  We may never find the 100% unequivocal truth of how autism is caused.  Instead let’s take that energy of blaming others and re-focus it into finding a CURE.

Completely Random Thoughts of the Week

This has been a very busy week and my brain is on overload.  Time to rid it of some useful and not so useful tidbits of information.

The View – I did not see it Thursday or Friday but I did hear about Thursdays show.  Ok, I like Rosie.  I think that if we lived close and actually knew each other we would be friends.  She does a lot of good and is sincere and caring but, OMG she can not let up on our President and all of his merry men.  Her political negativity is driving me crazy.  But, for some insane reason I can not turn away.  If she was not on the show, I probably would not watch – crazy I know!

American Idol – Simon Cowell has now said that if Sanjaya wins the whole thing he is quitting the show.  Geez Simon, that kid does not need another reason for people to vote for him!!  Think before you speak, man.  Even though I wanted Sanjaya to go Thursday, I was not surprised Brandon left.  Cardinal sin – he forgot his words and HE was a background singer for some pretty big artists.  He knew better so – Bye Brandon, hope you-know-who joins you next week!

“Find Me” – read this book this week.  It is a book written by Rosie O.  It is a very quick read and I was surprisingly astonished.  At the end, though, it opened up some flood gates and triggered some memories that I have had repressed for a long time.  This story made me laugh, cry, and scared me all at the same time.  I have issues and they need to be dealt with – soon.

Families – can’t live with them, can’t live without them.  Enough said.

Friends – the shiniest coins in the fountain.  You can see them in the clear sparkling water but sometimes it takes more than one try to actually grab ahold and keep them forever.

Bryce – he had an appointment with his developmental specialist today.  We are starting to form a game plan for his IEP for kindergarten.  Funny how you think that there has been progress made until a professional analyzes everything and can point out all the weaknesses.  There were some strengths but more weak areas than I thought there was.  So, time to re-focus and start anew.  This is a big journey for us and if I misinterpret something and lead us down the wrong path, it takes a lot of time to re-configure and get back on the right footing.  Lots of reading to do and lots of Internet time being spent to find just the right things for our agenda.  Hey, can anyone clone me for the next few years.  I’d really appreciate it!

Doctor visit – my visit with doctor did not go as expected.  There seems to be evidence that my bladder could be causing me problems.  I’m still having pain and the doc says that even with all of the ovarian cysts, they are not the cause.  He is sending me to an urologist.  Hard part now is finding one that is in my network!  My doc thinks he will do this procedure that will not be comfortable and will require sedation.  I hope he is wrong.  I want to feel better but I have to draw the line somewhere. 

NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament – Duke LOSES in the first round!  When was the last time that happened!  Oh well, I guess they have to lose sometime because my Buckeyes are going to do what the football team could not get accomplish – win the national title!  GO BUCKEYES!!

Spam – I love hearing from people who read these entries on my blog, but thank goodness for the spam filter.  I checked it this morning and somebody posted a nice comment and then told me to check out this link.  So, I click on it and it was a pornography site!!!  Needless to say, he got deleted FOREVER.  This is Welcome to the World of Moms NOT Welcome to the World of Hugh Hefner!! 

Ann Who?

Ann Coulter is an educated, conservative, blonde,  average looking woman who puts her money where her mouth is……………..and sometimes her foot, too.  Today, I have read two separate articles about this woman.  One was a light-hearted take from D.L. Stewart who wanted everyone to know that there is more to her and he wanted to “find her softer side”.  The following are some remarks she has made in the past:

Bill Clinton:  “We’re now at the point that it’s beyond whether or not this guy is a horny hick”(Equal Time, not dated)

Immigration:  “I’d build a wall.  In fact, I’d hire illegal immigrants to build the wall………it’s cheap labor.”(The O’Reilly Factor, 2006)

Women: “I think women should be armed but should not vote…..women have no capacity to understand how money is earned.”(Politically Incorrect, 2001)

New York Times: “My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is that he did not go to the New York Times building.”(New York Observer, 2002)

Herself: “I’m here, I’m not queer and I’m not going away.”(In Godless: The Church of Liberalism, 2006)

She has also been quoted on Fox News as saying that this probably makes her 17th time of having a career ending moment, but people still keep putting her on the air.  This was in reference to her gay slang word that she used to describe presidential candidate John Edwards.  

Is this woman nuts or is she really this frightening real.  I will admit, I chuckled at at least one of her prior quotes, but the rest I found to be very insulting and deeply damaging.   She just keeps spouting things out of her mouth like a bull in a china shop.  Hey lady, have you ever heard of “think before you speak”?!?  One of these days, news executives are going to finally say that they have had enough of Ann Homophobe Ageist Sexist Coulter.  The only place you will see her on your TV will be in reality TV’s ”The Surreal Life” or a celebrity version of “The Apprentice”.  Millions of people bought her book and she thinks that she represents the voice of the conservative Republican.  Well, Ann, darling, I am a woman; I am a Republican; I did not buy your book and you MOST definitely do not speak for me.  In fact, you are an embarrassment to women everywhere.  I leave you with this final thought – Ann herself said that 9/11 widows ”broads” were “enjoying their husbands’ deaths”.  Can we give her a one way ticket to anywhere but here?       

Dr. Temple Grandin

As an early birthday present my Mom gave me Dr. Temple Grandin and Sean Barron’s book entitled “Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships”.  It is a book for parents and I suppose young adults about figuring out how a child within the  autism spectrum deals with social encounters and behaviors.  On my first night of reading, I only made it to page 19, but I have implemented two changes in our lifestyle.  The book is 377 pages long.  If I have made 2 changes by page 19 can you imagine what I will do by page 377?  Dr. Grandin was on “The View” a few weeks ago when they did an hour long show about autism.  It was the first time I had heard her speak and I was moved beyond recognition.  Her manner of speaking and her gesturing reminded me of Bryce that it was almost eerie.  I felt like I could be her friend but, as I read the book I realized it was her Mother that I could really be friends with.  Her mother decided that from the very beginning that DTG(abbreviate now)would live as normal of a life as possible and would not be treated different by her family or her peers.  DTG was expected to first and foremost, have good manners.  My heart skipped a beat and I had a huge smile on my face when I read that because her mother essentially validated what I have been preaching all along to Bryce’s teachers.  I want him to have good manners because it is important for him to learn at least this lesson of life.  When Bryce was 3 and was going to his first pre-school, they had a snack time which was to teach the kids how to act at the dinner table and to learn to request food and drink in a nice way and to address sensory issues.  Even though Bryce used the picture system and could not verbally request his wants, I always told him after he received his snack to say “Thank you”.  Other mothers thought I was crazy for enforcing that with him.  Why make him feel pressure to say thank you when he can’t say “drink” or “pretzel”?  Well, he couldn’t say any of those words but I thought that if after he received his pretzels that I would say “say thank you”,it would become lodged in his brain.  This way when his words did come he would then remember “oh, I said pretzel and thank you comes after that”. Well guess what?  It worked.  He says please and thank you and he UNDERSTANDS what it means.  They are not just words to him, they mean something. 

It’s important for all kids to have good manners.  DTG says that it is lacking in our society today.  She grew up in the 50’s and 60’s and things were different then.  But, well behaved children never go out of style.  She says that her mother made it known that if she did something wrong that there were consequences.  This was known upfront and was enforced.  I agree with this.  Her mother also knew when her daughter was acting up out of spite and when her actions were something that she couldn’t control because of her surroundings.  That is huge.  As a parent you have to recognize when they are misbehaving and when it is just not their fault.  That has become a huge hurdle to conquer.  The roughest is when we are in public.  People can be rude.  Bryce can be out of sorts and acting up and people give me dirty looks or whisper to someone else and point at us.  I’m 80% over that.  Most of the time I think the hell with them.  That 20% is what I need to overcome.  My husband, though, is not there yet.  He can not handle a public uproar.  I don’t know if this is because he does not get as much time with him or if this is a “man thing” and he’s not as nurturing.     

If you have a child within the autism spectrum disorder or know someone who does, this book is a must read.  Our lives have been designed to learn from others and to consume their knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.  Like I said, I’m only on page 19 right now, but in my eyes Dr. Temple Grandin and her mother are heroes.